Hoteliers stare at flight of customers from Hyd to Amravati

Hyderabad, Oct 23: With the momentum picking up for the shifting of the Andhra Pradesh government's administration to Amaravati the hospitality industry in Hyderabad is getting the blues. The industry stares at the possibility of a fall in tourist arrivals in Hyderabad. Also, sensing a boom in the construction activity in the truncated AP, the infrastructure sector is upbeat. Expressing his concern, Telangana State Hotels Association General Secretary B Jagadeesh Rao said ever since AP was bifurcated, Hyderabad's hospitality industry experienced a steady a downtrend. The situation will further deteriorate once AP completely shifts the capital, Rao said. Rao said the current occupancy rate fell by almost 50 per cent and he was expecting it to fall further once the shifting of government activity to AP is completed. Rao said, "Even though the Telangana government is trying to boost tourism, certain issues are beyond anybody's control." Meanwhile, the president of Federation of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana Chambers of Commerce and Industry Anil Reddy said industries based in AP will benefit once the capital is shifted completely. According to CII (Andhra Pradesh) Amaravati presents huge opportunities to the infrastructure sector.